Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on Ashley Furniture:

Heart of Ybor looks to be big winner with Ashley Furniture arrival

• Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist

Wednesday, May 20, 2015 4:56pm

Today, that plan — or at least an updated version of it — looks like it will become official as Tampa economic development, political and business leaders gather in Ybor City at Centro Ybor at 11 a.m. to formally announce a significant company expansion and more jobs coming to the area.

Neither Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp. executives nor Ashley Furniture spokespeople offered any comment Wednesday on the expected Ashley expansion. But city building permits filed in April reveal construction plans on office space for Ashley Furniture HomeStores Inc. and AshComm LLC that include renovation to the interior and exterior movie theater space at Centro Ybor.

AshComm LLC filed as a Florida business last June at 1600 E Eighth Ave. — the same address as the Centro Ybor complex of businesses and retail entertainment.

Permits show the company will locate in space now used by Muvico Centro Ybor 20, which expects to trim its number of movie screens.

Today’s announcement, complete with anticipated jobs and a package of taxpayer incentives, is expected to include Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, EDC CEO Rick Homans and Hillsborough County Commissioner Chairwoman Sandra Murman.

It’s not clear who will represent Ashley Furniture, a huge private business based in Arcadia, Wis., and mostly owned by father and son team Ron and Todd Wanek, the latter serving as CEO.

Ron Wanek now lives in St. Petersburg. He is a self-made billionaire and ranks No. 949 on the 2015 Forbes list of world billionaires, with an estimated fortune of $2.2 billion. The Wanek family investment fund, Third Lake Capital, is run by Ken Jones, the former top executive of the Republican National Convention host committee. The fund bought Tampa restaurant chain Ker’s WingHouse last summer with plans to expand it.

Ashley Furniture employs about 20,000 people and generates $3.85 billion annually selling beds, sofas, tables and chairs. Components are made in Asia with cheaper labor. U.S. workers assemble the furniture after an order is complete, lowering inventory costs.

If today’s “economic development announcement” is indeed Ashley Furniture bringing several hundred office jobs, it will be a coup for Ybor as it continues to evolve from after-dark entertainment district to a more rounded economic community.